Legacy of Steel

17

If Sara actually killed Knight Officer Massard with the stroke of the second knife, no one ever knew for sure, because the moment he slumped over her, a frantic cry reverberated through the arena. The onlookers all clapped their hands to their ears and watched in amazement as the blue dragon lurking on the rim of the high wall catapulted downward to the sands. He sank his teeth into Massard's torso and flung the body aside. Torn and bloody, Massard crashed into the stone retaining wall with a dull thud and dropped to the sand.

"If that doesn't kill the old lush," remarked an officer to General Abrena, "nothing will."

The crowd waited expectantly. All bets were on hold until it was apparent at least one of the duelists survived.

On the sands, Cobalt gently nudged his rider. She breathed, he saw with relief. She looked bruised and battered, but there were no bloody holes, nothing obviously broken. He nudged her again with his scaly nose, and this time she groaned. One eye flew open. The other was swollen shut.

"Cobalt!" she exclaimed. "Where's Massard?"

"Over there," he said gruffly.

He held his muzzle steady so she could pull herself to a sitting position.

Cheers, applause, and a few jeers from losing bettors filled the stands. The show over, the spectators settled their bets, left their litter, and crowded through the exits.

Sara watched them in a daze. She didn't dare climb to her feet for fear of embarrassing herself by fainting again or giving in to the nausea that racked her stomach. Her face throbbed where Massard had punched her and every muscle in her body ached.

"Have some of this," Mirielle's voice said beside her. The governor-general handed her a flask filled to the brim with a pale golden liquid. Sara took a swallow and felt a fine, mellow honey mead coat her tongue and slide like liquid sunshine down her throat. Her rebellious stomach grumbled once and gradually subsided. She had another long drink and let her breath out in a long, heartfelt sigh of relief.

"You'd better get something cold on that eye," observed Mirielle. She offered her hand to help Sara to her feet. "Good fight, talon leader."

Sara's battered face broke into a smile. She had done it. She and the Sixth Talon were free of Massard. Her secret was safe for a while longer, and she had some breathing room. She took Mirielle's hand and made her way to her feet. Dizziness gripped her, forcing her to grab Cobalt's neck for support. Only grim determination kept her from fainting again at the general's feet.

Mirielle was pleased. This knight had pride and the courage she was looking for in her commanders. "Take her to her tent," she ordered.

The big blue was happy to obey. He scooped up Sara in his powerful forearms and carried her bodily into the air.

Pressed tightly against his chest, the woman looked up at the dragon's fearsome head and grinned lopsidedly at his worried expression. "It's all right now, Cobalt," she told him.

He would not relax, though, until he delivered her safely to her tent and saw her walk inside. As soon as she was lying down on her cot, he left the camp and flew around the city to the southwestern side, where the stables spread out beneath him. He knew he was not supposed to go near the barns to avoid panicking the horses. The dragon guards watched him closely, but he ignored them while he scanned the ground for any familiar figure. Far below, he saw Marika and Kelena emptying wheelbarrows of manure. He couldn't resist a single trumpeting cry of triumph.

The girls looked up, saw him, and pumped their fist. They had understood his message. Satisfied, he winged across the broad valley to the nearest snow-capped peak of the encircling mountains. Frigid air blew over his wings and nipped the ends of his nostrils. He snorted great gouts of steam as he landed in the deep snow near the summit of the massive peak. He paused just long enough to scoop up a big armful of snow and ice, then he dropped over a ledge and glided back down the mountain to Neraka's vale.

Some of the snow had melted or fallen away by the time he reached the tents in the Red Quarter, yet enough remained to make a giant-sized ice pack. Marika and Kelena met him at the camp. They had managed to get away from stable duty for a short meal break and had come racing back to find Sara.

Cobalt dumped his snow by Sara's tent and watched while the girls made an ice pack for her eye, brewed her tea, and talked to her about every move made in the duel. They had to go back to the stable to work, but their faces glowed with excitement when they left. They couldn't wait to tell Derrick, Saunder, and Jacson.

After two days of rest, Sara felt well enough to return to her duties. She was immediately struck by the change in attitude toward her, not only by the young men and women in her command but by the other knights as well.

The day after her duel with Massard, Governor-General Abrena sent her goblin messenger with compliments, a new rank insignia for her uniform, and an order to appear before the armorer for a new set of armor.

Chuckling at the irony of all this, Sara fastened the lily insignias to her sleeves, thanked the fawning goblin, and went out to greet her talon.

The five members snapped to attention and executed perfect salutes. New respect shone on their faces as they waited for their orders. They knew nothing about Sara's past life and the true purpose of her challenge to Massard. All they knew was that they liked this officer who treated them fairly, as individuals with their own strengths, and who had rid them of an odious dictator who had made their lives miserable. They stood a little straighter, their pride evident to all, and went about their work with pleasure.

On the third day, when Sara was able to move again without too much pain and the swelling around her eye went down enough so she could see, she took the talon out to train with their dragons. For the first time since the duel, she came face-to-face with other knights, both common and talon-ranked. Everyone she met, including knights who had never said anything to her before, had a word or two of congratulations or commendation, a salute, or a greeting. She guessed all this attention stemmed from the intense dislike Massard had generated during his time in Neraka. It never occurred to her that she had earned their respect on her own merits.

A further sign of her increased status in the ranks showed up several days later in the form of three more squires. They reported to Sara that morning and told her they had been reassigned by Lord Knight Cadrel to the Sixth Talon to bring it up to strength. She had them line up with the other five and studied them one by one.

The first, and by far the tallest, was Kazar, a barbarian from the Khur wastelands to the north. His face was comely but too hard and unforgiving to be pleasant. He did not seem pleased by his transfer and answered Sara's questions with curt replies.

Argathon had no idea where he was from originally. He had been orphaned in Jerek during the Second Cataclysm and wandered to Neraka simply because his father, a half-elf renegade and mercenary, had mentioned it a few times when he visited his son. Argathon's elf heritage was apparent in his short, slim stature and fair coloring, but his human blood gave him a trim, blond beard and a tendency to be short-tempered.

The last squire stared at Sara belligerently. "My name is Treb," she said in sharp, biting words. "I am Nerakan, born and bred, and I will take my Test of Takhisis next week."

"Congratulations," replied Sara dryly. She crossed her arms and examined the woman before her. Treb had to be the oldest of the squires, and she was like her name, compact and colorless. Her features were nondescript; her hair was lank and mouse brown. There was nothing drab about her attitude, however. She seemed to be trying to make up for a boring physical appearance with a tough, touch-me-not personality.

Treb's face darkened at Sara's tone. "I did not wish to transfer, but we were all that was left of our unit. Two deserted. The others failed their tests."

"I'm sorry," Sara said in regret. Those who failed the test for knighthood did not survive to try again. Derrick's friend, Tamar, had died that way.

Unfortunately her sympathy was wasted on Treb. The woman spat on the ground. "They were worthless." She raked her cold gaze over the other five squires. "Much like them. They probably won't make it either, and then I can be leader and get some real talent in this talon."

Sara stiffened, her gray eyes turned to granite.

Treb did not heed her silent warning. She went on venting her anger in spiteful words. "Our talon leader was old, too, but at least he knew how to train recruits. That Massard was a drunken bore. He couldn't train anyone to blow her nose."

Sara saw the squires stiffen with growing outrage. She jerked her hand down to stifle them. "And all but three of your talon deserted or died," she remarked. "Those are hardly the results of a good trainer."

Treb snorted indelicately. "I told you, they were worthless. I, on the other hand, could beat any of your children with any weapon, any time."

"Done," Derrick said suddenly, startling Sara. "But not yet. Squires cannot duel for rank. We will both take the test of Takhisis. After we have been knighted, we will fight for the right to be junior officer."

"What?" Sara exclaimed, distressed by Derrick's impulsive challenge. Her cry was lost in Treb's loud acceptance and a chorus of cheers from Saunder, Jacson, Kelena, and Marika. "Be quiet!" Sara bellowed in her most commanding voice.

The talon hastily snapped into silence.

"Now, in case you have all forgotten, you must have my permission to apply to the governor-general for the test."

Treb said smugly, "Knight Officer Conby, that will not be necessary for me. I have already applied and been accepted. My mentor has arranged for me to take the test next Soldai."

"Then I will apply, too," Derrick put in, his tone reasonable. "Knight Officer, you cannot deny me. I am ready."

Sara's fists clenched. No, not yet. Not Derrick. If he passed his test and took his vows, she could lose him just as she lost Steel. He would give his soul to the Queen of Darkness and become one of those she hated. No, she couldn't let him! He was too honorable, too loyal, to be bound up in this evil knighthood. Surely there was something better for him somewhere else in Krynn, if he just took the time to look. But if he insisted on taking his vows now merely to satisfy a matter of pride, he could lose his chance to escape, maybe even lose his life.

Yet what could she do? Sara knew even as she looked at his strong, handsome face that she could not deny him, at least not here, not in front of his companions and especially not in front of Treb and the two new men. It would undermine his authority and be a severe blow to his pride that could drive a wedge between them. She had to play for time so she could have a chance to talk him out of it.

"Squire Yaufre, I am too new to this talon to be assured that you are ready. The Test of Takhisis is no game. It is deadly serious, and I will not take a chance on your life just to satisfy a recruit with more arrogance than sense."

Treb started to interrupt, and Sara cut her off with a fierce motion. "And you, Treb, will remember who commands this talon. Keep your mouth shut, your ears open, and learn to cooperate with your group. Even the Knights of Takhisis must work in unison in battle."

Treb opened her mouth again only to hear Argathon say cheerfully, "Pack it in, Trebbie. You won't get anywhere with this one. She's fought horaxes, remember? After those, you're just a mosquito."

The Nerakan's face burned like embers, and Sara quickly stifled a smile. The woman obviously did not like the nickname or the young man's rejoinder.

"Enough of this. We will discuss this later, Derrick. For this morning, we will go on a flight. Bring your flying gear, bows, a full waterskin, and enough food for a day. No swords."

She watched them break off to their tents to fetch their gear. Why in the names of all the absent gods did the order have to saddle her with three new recruits now? Her position was precarious enough without adding complications like these. She didn't intend to stay in Neraka indefinitely. When the opportunity arose to escape the city without pursuit, she would take Cobalt and go, and if she could convince some, if not all, of the five squires to go with her, she would.

But now Derrick wanted to take his test and be fully knighted in the service of Queen Takhisis. How much of his desire, Sara wondered, was a true calling, and how much was simple availability? Derrick had never expressed a deep devotion to Takhisis or her dark knighthood in Sara's hearing. He wanted knowledge, authority, power, self-reliance. But to devote his life to a missing goddess? Sara was not totally convinced. The problem would be to prove to him that he was not convinced either. She couldn't be blunt and deny him permission without causing a rift in their developing relationship. She had to find a way to show him that the Knights of Takhisis held nothing but darkness for his soul.

Sara drew in a long breath. The strife was too close to her heart. She couldn't think through this dilemma without remembering Steel and her failure to help him. At that time, she'd had help in the guise of Caramon Majere and Tanis Half-Elven, who helped her take Steel to the Tower of the High Clerist to see the tomb of his father, the hero Sturm Brightblade. But none of their efforts, or her pleading, or even the vision of Sturm's ghost had been enough. Steel returned to Lord Ariakan and took his vows.

This time she had nothing to rely on but herself. She ran her fingers through her short hair and thrust her thoughts of Steel aside for now.

She had an idea that might help ease at least one of the talon's problems. While she waited for the squires, she walked to the practice fields and summoned the dragons.

Cobalt came immediately, his presence reassuring to his troubled rider. A third dragon appeared with Squall and Howl, a young but fierce blue named Tumult. He was Treb's dragon, he told Sara loftily.

She had a quick word with them to warn them of her intentions. They squawked a bit until she told the younger ones they could watch from a distance, as long as they stayed out of sight. They agreed to that and were all innocence when the squires arrived to saddle them. The recruits had to ride double, since there weren't enough dragons. Cobalt, being the largest, agreed to carry the last two with Sara.

With everyone mounted, the dragons arrowed into the air. They turned west toward the heart of the rugged Khalkist Mountains. About twenty-five miles into the wilderness, they saw a valley that angled in the general direction of Neraka and wasn't buried too deeply in snow. A small stream flowed under a shield of ice, and trees grew in the sheltered dales. Water, shelter, and fuel. It was what Sara was looking for. She pumped her fist to signal the dragons and sent Cobalt gliding down to a landing in the snow. The three younger dragons followed.

"Everyone off," she ordered.

One by one the eight squires dropped off the dragons into the snow and looked around quizzically. The five originals and the new three instinctively splintered into separate groups.

Sara leaned her arms on the saddle. "One of the most important things you need to learn before you become a knight is survival. The second is teamwork. All too often, the skills go hand in hand. If you learn to work together as a team, you will stand a better chance of success. Therefore-" she waved at the dragons to take off, "-I am giving you the opportunity to practice what I preach. Work together and you'll get home. Neraka's that way." And before the startled recruits could protest, she urged Cobalt aloft. His leathery wings grabbed the cold air and sent snow whipping around the gaping men and women.

The big blue looked down at them and chuckled. "They don't look very happy."

Sara shrugged. Their dragons would be close by, out of sight, in case of trouble. She wasn't worried about their abilities to make it back to Neraka, only about their intentions to be knighted too soon. "I'll give them four days. They'll make it if they want to," she commented.

Those four days were the longest Sara ever spent. The other talon leaders laughed when they heard what she had done. Such tactics had been used before, usually to good advantage, and the older knights, who mentored the squires, heartily approved. They didn't like the hurried training they'd been forced to provide any more than Sara did, and they were in full support of anything that helped "toughen" the recruits.

Sara didn't really care what they thought. She was too busy searching her own heart and mind for some course of action. Should she stop Derrick or let him try? What if the others wanted their turn, too? The dilemma nagged at her every minute the talon was gone.

The turn of the new year came during their absence, and it was that night that Sara dreamed of Steel. He had walked in her dreams many times before, usually in the remembered image of the last day she saw him, when he mounted the blue dragon, Flare, and left her behind to face her own grief, loneliness, and sense of failure. This time she saw him in her dream's eye as a young man barely out of boyhood. He was standing in the open space before their two-room dwelling on Storm's Keep. A storm raged across the island, soaking Steel in a drenching rain. Wind buffeted him, but he just extended his arms to greet it and laughed. His long black hair flew around his face like the tatters of a minotaur's sail.

"Come in!" Sara tried to yell over the roar of the wind and the crash of the waves. "Come in before you catch your death."

Steel grinned his crooked grin and shouted back, "Not yet, Mother. Be patient! It isn't time."

There was a tremendous crash of thunder. Sara bolted awake, trembling, the sound still ringing in her memory. The dark tent huddled silently around her. There was no wind or rain or thunder. No Steel.

Tears sprang to her eyes. She scrubbed her face with the rough blanket and pulled the bedding tighter around her. She hadn't cried for Steel in years, but the terrible| loneliness that had held her in thrall in the months after he left returned with fresh, painful vigor. The tears broke| loose and streamed down her cheeks. She buried her face in her blankets and let the tears come. There was nothing else to do. Even after eight years apart, Sara still missed him horribly. She cried for the child he had been, she cried for the years since she had lost him, and most bitterly of all, she cried for his death, which left an empty void in her soul that nothing would ever fill.

Perhaps if she had been able to have children of her own, her loss of Steel would not have been so wrenching. But even during the years she stayed with Lord Ariakan, she never conceived, and Steel became the cherished center of all her frustrated love.

Until this year. Now, in this cold, dark city in a tumultuous, frightening age for their world, she had found a group of young people who stirred her affections like none since Steel, and ironically enough, they didn't even know.

Sara suddenly chuckled at herself. She wiped her face dry and climbed out of bed to stoke her small brazier. A pot of water sat off to the side, where it stayed warm for tea. She brewed a cup of her favorite blend, dried and mixed from herbs in her garden in Connersby.

Back under the blankets, she sipped her tea and pondered her strange position in Neraka and the images of her dream. Steel had never been patient, which made it odd that she would dream of him cautioning her to wait. Perhaps he was right-or rather her inner self that conjured the dream was right. There were times when it was prudent to lie back and see what developed. Things could change in the blink of an eye.

She would bide her time and let events happen as they would. She just hoped that when the time came to jump, she would be ready. Feeling better, she lay back and slept dreamlessly the rest of the night.